Dielectric materials are sometimes used as an insulating layer to protect electrical components of printed circuit boards, modules, and other chips from damage. For example, a high-power transistor module, such as an insulated-gate bi-polar transistor (IGBT) high power module for an automotive application, may operate at voltages of approximately 650 volts and currents of approximately 1600 amps, and have a power dissipation of around 1500 watts. With such high operating voltages, currents, and power, the high-power transistor module may include a thick layer of dielectric insulating material (e.g., gel) covering the chips, diodes, and other electrical components of the high-power transistor module for protection (e.g., against arching).
Unfortunately, a protective layer of dielectric gel may inhibit failure analysis of a module, should one or more of the electrical components eventually fail. Therefore, in order to accurately determine the root cause of a failure, the dielectric insulating gel must be removed before proper inspection of an affected area on a module can be performed.